May 2006 Newsletter
They will rebuild the ruined cities…
As I drove through the streets of the once populated and bustling city of New Orleans, I gained a new perspective of God’s mighty and sovereign power. A community that only a few months ago was going about their everyday activities of gardening, making school lunches, and commuting back and forth to their places of employment, is now stark, desolate, and simply a ruined city. The voices of the children were still and the smell of the crawfish and gumbo was distant. It was a ghost town. Weeds were overtaking homes like a disease, while cars lay upside down in ditches. Every door and window from each home was blown away while roofs crumbled into the streets and water gutters were torn into small scraps of metal. Trees were uprooted and shops closed for good. Amidst the weeds you could see a bright orange “X” painted on every door of every home in the city. In each corner of the “X” was a symbol or number. The 4 figures represented the branch of army that checked the home, the date the home was checked, the number of persons or animals rescued, and the bottom triangle represented the number of persons found dead. It reminded me of the time I walked through the holocaust camps at Auschwitz. That cold, eerie, unsettled feeling of injustice. It was devastating.
Yet somehow, I still felt God’s presence. I felt his indescribable peace, and feared his awesome power. And then I read from Psalm 30, “The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever”.
My team and I couldn’t help from asking the normal questions about Hurricane Katrina. Did God create this destruction? Did God plan this hurricane? How has God used this for His glory? We never could fully answer these questions but we did conclude that God is a good God and his mighty power is never for us to scrutinize.
As I watched each youth group labor intensely at their work site, whether it was at VBS or a construction site, gardening, or simply praying with people, I was reminded of the prophet Isaiah’s message when he claimed that “…they will come and renew the ruined cities”. Perhaps our team of 50 youth and a few AIM leaders had come for such a time as this, to meet the needs of the people in the city and be a part of the prophecy to begin renewing the ruined cities. Although our labor seemed small compared to the needs, and our trip seemed short, I am confident that God used us in mighty ways to bring his message of love to New Orleans. It was a very powerful trip.
MERCY STREET MINISTIRES
It has been a very fun and exciting time at Mercy Street Ministries. This is the youth ministry that I am helping to direct in Kensington. We have continued with our after-school program everyday and are planning to begin a mentoring program in the summer. In our Bible Studies the children are learning to memorize the books of the Bible, they have done a gospel dance for the church congregation, and completed a huge puzzle of famous Bible stories. They seem to learn more about Jesus as reflected in their choices at school to not get into fights and their parents comments about their respectful behavior.
Recently Chris and I brought the youth group from Doylestown Pres. Church down to Kensington for an outreach BBQ. We were able to serve over 60 families in Kensington hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta, desserts and give away donated food. The youth loved when the kids asked to have “JESUS” painted on their face. This was a great chance for the Doylestown youth to serve the inner-city youth and remember what it means to be thankful.
One of the visions we have is to turn an old storage shed into a youth house. We have the laborers willing to come work, but they estimate about $5,000 to make this project happen. We need electricity, plumbing, a new roof, and of course color! If you feel led to give in this way, please email me and I’d love to discuss how you can help with this project!
Where in the world is BoBo?
BoBo is one of the nicknames I received in college. Now that I’m married, I’m technically a Via, but I thought this title was very appropriate for this article!
After a year of being planted in Philadelphia for ministry, I am preparing to spend the entire summer doing traveling ministry. I will be leading 2 mission trips with AIM and 2 mission trips with Doylestown Presbyterian Church. Mixed in with a few weddings, an AIM staff conference and celebrating my 30th Birthday party, it’s going to be a very busy summer. Check out how you can pray for me !
June 17-24 AIM Mission trip in Philadelphia
June 28-July 1 DPC Trip to Creation Festival
July 6-18 AIM Mission trip to Jamaica
July 20-22 Chris pastors a wedding in Indiana
July 24-29 DPC Jr.High Great Escape Summer Camp
Aug 7 Chris’ last day at DPC
Aug 12-17 30th Birthday Party for Chris and I in CA
Aug 17-21 AIM Staff Conference in GA
Aug 21-26 Via family vacation in Seattle
So that’s where I’ll be for the summer. I hope to catch you whenever we are crossing paths!
C2’S BIG MOVE
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C2 Is the clever name my mother in law has given for Chris and Christina. And so far, I’m happy to report that the last 6 months of marriage for C2 have been amazing! We have had so much fun being newlyweds together. We love to sleep in, watch movies, cook dinner on the grill and have friends over to our home. •
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Everyone said we’d argue about the little things like the toothpaste tube, placement of pots and pans, and who cleans the fridge, but we really haven’t. Perhaps it’s because we’ve already been through so many major changes such as buying a house, getting married, buying new car, and merging bank accounts. We must have missed the memo that said don’t make any major changes in your first year of marriage. •
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Yet it’s evident that by making some of the hard decisions early, we’ve learned about communication, compromise, and commitment quite quickly. I am thankful for our practice in decision making because it is with this experience and much prayer that we’ve made another major decision. •
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On Aug 7, 2006,Chris will officially be leaving his job as Associate Pastor of Youth and Families at Doylestown Presbyterian Church. After serving there for 2 years, we both feel that God is preparing a new season of ministry for Chris as a pastor and us as a couple. We believe this will be a healthy decision for both our marriage and the congregation. •
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We are excited to see where God will take us next so that we can use our gifts and passions for ministry in the way God has called us to serve. As of right now, we don’t have a specific idea for what’s next. We are keeping all possibilities open and trusting that we will hear from God in His perfect timing. •
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We would appreciate your prayers and encouragement for us during this time as we consider all the trials and joys that will come with this next transition. It is the during the times of life’s uncertainties that God reminds us we be certain of His perfection and promises! •
“It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man” Psalm 118:8 (the center verse of the entire Bible)
SUPPORT UPDATE~
Many thanks to all of you who support me monthly or have given a one time donation. It is because of your obedience and giving that I can join in God’s vision to expand His Kingdom. Currently I am raising about 85% of my monthly salary. This goes towards some bills, gas money to drive into Philly and a lot of after-school supplies. Would you prayerfully consider keeping your monthly comittment until December of 2006 or making another one-time donation towards my summer ministry. You can now make online donations at my new blog website. Just visit the link below and click SUPPORT ME. If you are a new donor, fill out the attached card and send it to the AIM office. Thank You in abundance!
